


Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: When We're Together [9]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-20 01:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2410022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He knew that she wasn’t still in love with Eli.  She’d gotten over her husband before she even ended the marriage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)

**Author's Note:**

> 1/28/2011 The title is from the classic Bob Dylan album, _Blonde on Blonde_. That’s what I was going to call the story but when I looked at the album listing, I knew there was one that might be better.

Erin checked out the woman washing her hands in the next basin out of the corner of her eye while reapplying her lipstick. It was Sunrise Desire, a silly name as most makeup names were, but it was a gorgeous brownish red that looked good on her. Usually she hated restaurant bathrooms and the awkward moments that could take place there. There were times when the need to excuse yourself, for whatever reason, overrode that hate.

She tried not to watch as the younger blonde fluffed up her hair. The woman looked so familiar but Erin was sure she couldn’t know her. She never forgot a name or a face, even to her detriment. She would hate to ask if she was Dee Dee, Amy, or Daphne and be wrong about all three. Maybe her voice would sound familiar.

“I love your necklace.” Erin said, putting on a smile as she recapped her lipstick.

“Oh thank you.” the woman smiled like a former supermodel as her fingers ran over the diamond choker. “My fiancé bought it for me. I thought it was a little much but he said that a woman like me deserved diamonds. Isn’t that thoughtful?”

“Mmm,” Erin smile and tried not to roll her eyes. What kind of bullshit line was that?

“I believe its Van Cleef and Arpels. He has expensive tastes.”

“They all do.” Erin replied. “They do whether they have money or not.”

“Isn't it the truth?”

The blonde laughed and Erin didn’t really like it. There was something so hollow about it. But it wasn’t as if she needed to be friends with a woman she met by the bathroom sinks in an expensive restaurant. Instead she just ‘smiled’ again and walked out, the younger woman on her heels. They were practically walking together back out to the seating area. Erin nearly froze when she saw the man who stood at the younger woman’s approach. She knew her ex-husband did.

“Erin…” his voice cracked some.

“Hello, Eli.” She replied.

The blonde looked at Erin in a whole new light. If this was her competition this race might not be as hard as she initially thought. It was clear Eli Strauss still carried some kind of torch for his ex. Christa had done her best to extinguish it and her best was a damn fine job. She was wearing the overpriced diamond choker while his ex-wife wore some silly initial pendant.

It was real diamonds, to be sure, but small time. Christa Covington was not small time. She’d worked hard for all she had and wasn’t going to lose it to a woman nearly 20 years older than her. Erin was still beautiful, to be sure, but past her prime. The smile never leaving her face, she went to Eli’s side and slipped her arm into his.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Having dinner; isn’t that what you do in a restaurant?”

“Of course.” Eli laughed and it sounded just as hollow as the girlfriend’s had in the bathroom.

“Eli? Are you going to introduce us?” she gave him a gentle nudge.

“Oh, of course, forgive me. Christa Covington, this is Erin Strauss.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” she extended her hand; made sure to show off her diamond bracelet.

“You as well.” Erin hated saying it but not for the reason either of them probably thought. When she shook her hand Eli noticed she was no longer wearing her wedding ring.

“You look great.” He tried to keep his voice neutral but both women looked at him.

“Thank you.”

Erin wore grey boot-cut slacks with a maroon cashmere v-neck and matching maroon boots. Her blonde hair brushed her shoulders. It was starting to grow and she liked it that way. David liked it that way. Sometimes it was OK to do things because lovers liked it. This was especially true when you made it past the year mark without killing each other.

“I’ll leave you two to your dinner.” She said, wanting to get away. “Eli, it was good to see you.”

It took all she had to wait for his response. Then she turned and went back to her own table. Just as her ex-husband had, Dave stood as she approached.

“I was beginning to worry just a bit.” He said, sitting when she did. “You were gone awhile.”

“I ran into Eli.”

“Eli who?”

“David, you know who I'm talking about.”

“Your ex-husband is here?” Dave asked.

“Yes, with his new girlfriend. Oh, excuse me, she’s his fiancée. She’s 30 if she’s a minute, dripping in diamonds and designer fashions. She looks a lot like me, almost scarily so, but not me.”

“What does that mean?”

“She looks like I would have at 30 if I never had a job or a child. Her last name is Covington…she could be one of the Richmond Covingtons. There was no accent but I'm sure she’s been educated all over the world. You can't be a wannabe supermodel and full-time gold digger with a bad Southern drawl.”

“I would think being from Richmond she’d had a good Southern drawl.” Dave replied.

“I guess; if you like that sort of thing.”

Erin sighed as the server came with the dessert menus. She nodded when asked if she wanted her wine refilled. Dave declined another scotch but thought a cup of coffee would be good. He put his hand over Erin’s as the server left them alone.

“We don’t have to stay if you're uncomfortable, baby. We came out tonight to have a good time.”

“I am having a good time.” Erin said. “I'm not going anywhere…do you know how long it takes to get reservations to a restaurant like Equinox.”

“Well, it takes the average Joe a few months.” Dave said. “Me, I know people; I'm famous.”

She smiled and Dave smiled too. He saw some of the storm clouds clear in her eyes and that made him feel better. He knew that she wasn’t still in love with Eli. She’d gotten over her husband before she even ended the marriage. Still, it couldn’t have been easy running into him and his new lady love. Seeing his ex-wives never bothered him much, for whatever reason. Erin wasn’t him.

“How many markers did you have to call in for tonight?” She asked.

“Enough. It doesn’t matter because you're impressed. Look at your glow; it’s worth the markers.”

“I’ll be glowing even more when I'm finally able to try dulce de leche cheesecake.” Erin sipped her wine.

With a raised eyebrow, Dave once again called the server over. If she wanted it, she would have it. That suited him just fine.

***

“What are you thinking?” Dave asked.

He came to stand behind Erin as she sat at her vanity table. Yes, the woman had a vanity table…and there was something sexy about that. She was dressed in a light blue satin nightgown that brought out her eyes and was in the process of brushing herself bald. His nimble fingers massaged her shoulders.

Erin sighed, putting her brush down on the table. She pulled her hair back and started removing her makeup. It was always one of the last things she did at night and he loved to watch it. He loved to watch her do everything.

“I'm honestly not thinking about anything.”

“So you're not thinking about Christa Covington?”

“No.” she shook her head, running a cotton ball across her face.

“Good, because I assure you she’s not worth it.” he replied.

“You didn’t see her.”

“I didn’t have to. I hope you're not comparing the two of you because she couldn’t be as beautiful as you. She couldn’t be as smart, savvy, sexy, or infuriating; which I might add is very sexy.”

“So that makes me sexy twice.” Erin said.

“Yes ma'am.” He bent to kiss her shoulder. “There are probably only a handful of women in the world who can claim to be sexy twice. If Eli is happy with Christa, let him be. I hope you are.”

Dave never asked her before if she was happy. He just did things that he knew would make her feel good. It wasn’t about material things, it was about feelings. He loved to draw her bath, cook her dinner, and rub her shoulders. He loved to cuddle on the couch with a movie or get into an intense debate about something or other and then make passionate love. There was always room for passionate love.

If Eli felt one-tenth as strongly for Christa Covington as Dave did for Erin, he wasn’t going to begrudge the man. Still, he didn’t want her comparing herself to what some might call a trophy girlfriend. She was better than that, and she knew that she was. It might not make her feel better at the moment but that didn’t make it any less true. She didn’t know, or maybe she did, that it took a lot to turn him on. Erin Strauss turned him on in every way. Dave was initially just as shocked about that as she still seemed to be.

“Who wouldn’t be happy after the dessert I had?” she asked, running a rosewater towel over her face. “That cheesecake was heavenly.”

“It was heavenly watching you eat it.”

“Sometimes I worry about you, David.”

“Why is that?”

He waited until she’d put on her night serum, the woman had a plethora of products, before gently lifting her from the seat and wrapping his arms around her. Erin smiled when he pulled the band from her hair and let it fall again.

“You watch me eat.” She said.

“I watch you do a lot of things. It’s never a disappointing show.”

Sometimes Erin had an overwhelming desire to ask what the hell was going on. Here she was in the middle of a passionate love affair with a man she thought she’d gotten over two and a half decades ago. Rossi and Strauss had seen their share of clashes over the years as they both moved up the FBI’s ladder. They both took things personally, had been vengeful, mean, and downright scandalous. They also both came out on the other side.

Maybe a little singed, a little jaded, but not too much worse for wear. They lived their lives; both would probably say happily if asked. Whether or not that was true no one would ever really know. Yet, here she was in his arms, nearly wanton as his hands roamed her body. She wanted him, in her heart, in her thoughts, and for damn sure in her bed.

He was the same man, yet different…mature, seasoned, and learned. The good parts were still rough around the edges. Most of the parts that drove her crazy, and drove her away, had smoothed with age and experience. Maybe it was Erin’s age and experience and not Dave’s at all. She wasn’t prepared to follow that line of thinking down the rabbit hole just yet. She was already falling faster than she knew how to control.

“I'm taking you to bed now.” Dave murmured as his lips trailed across her throat. He was already moving in that direction and Erin’s feet were barely touching the carpet.

“Mmm, keep talking.”

“Nope, wanna stop talking. Want to do other things that make you feel good. You know I can make you feel so good, baby.”

“Damn skippy, Agent Rossi.” Erin grinned.

Laying her back on the bed, Dave loved the way her hair spread around her. He loved her cheeky grin and how she sounded when she said ‘damn skippy’. He moved his body over hers; the conversation was over. But the night surely wasn’t.

***

  



End file.
